Andrea Bocelli confirms he tested positive for coronavirus

Andrea Bocelli has revealed he secretly battled coronavirus two months ago, just weeks before he performed a historic live-streamed concert. 

The 61-year-old classical singer was diagnosed with Covid-19 in March along with several members of his family. 

However, Andrea chose not to publicly disclose his health battle and quietly made a ‘swift and full recovery by the end of March’. 

Opening up about his ordeal in a Facebook post this week, the Italian tenor said: ‘The pandemic which has shaken the world has also affected — albeit mildly — me and certain members of my family. 

Explaining his decision to keep the news private, Andrea stated: ‘Out of respect for those for whom contracting the virus has had more serious consequences, I decided it would be best not to share the news. I certainly didn’t want to unnecessarily alarm my fans and also wished to protect my family’s privacy.’ 

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Andrea will now donate his blood to antibodies testing seeking to find a vaccine for the deadly virus, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 350,000 people. 

‘Given the chance to donate blood to help find a cure for Covid, my response was an immediate “yes”,’ Andrea said. ‘A modest — but fundamental — gesture, through which I am playing my small part.’ 

Just weeks after his recovery, Andrea hosted the Music For Hope concert live from the deserted Duomo of Milan on 12 April. 

His emotional show was staged as a way of sending love and hope to the world during the coronavirus pandemic.

The concert has now broken world records as more than 40 million people watching the 30-minute concert on YouTube so far. 

At the time, Andrea’s moving performance amassed over 2.8 million peak concurrent viewers, making it one of the biggest musical live stream performances of all time and the largest audience for a classical live stream in YouTube history.

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